Bundesliga News

Jürgen Klopp gets first win as Germany head coach in UEFA Nations League win over Serbia

2026-10-01

Florian Wirtzand Tom Bischof (r.) scored the goals that saw Jürgen Klopp's Germany finally get off the mark. - © KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND Florian Wirtzand Tom Bischof (r.) scored the goals that saw Jürgen Klopp's Germany finally get off the mark. - © KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND Jürgen Klopp finally picked up his first win as Germany head coach at the third attempt as goals from Bayern Munich's Tom Bischof and Liverpool's Florian Wirtz sealed a comfortable UEFA Nations League win over Serbia at the Alli

Florian Wirtzand Tom Bischof (r.) scored the goals that saw Jürgen Klopp's Germany finally get off the mark. - © KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND

Jürgen Klopp finally picked up his first win as Germany head coach at the third attempt as goals from Bayern Munich's Tom Bischof and Liverpool's Florian Wirtz sealed a comfortable UEFA Nations League win over Serbia at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Germany 2-0 Serbia

Goals: 1-0 Bischof 39’, 2-0 Wirtz 61’ (assist: Mittelstädt)

Germany were dominant from the off in Munich, and nearly struck inside the first ten minutes when Aleksandar Pavlović fired just wide from a Philipp Treu knockdown. Captain on the night, Serge Gnabry, then missed two good chances for the opener as Serbia’s Djordje Petrović became increasingly involved. Bischof finally struck the opener shortly before the interval, blasting home after Wirtz had struck the post.

Germany’s dominance continued after the interval, and Nick Woltemade should have added a second just before the hour mark after being found by a perfect cross from Treu, but he could only blaze over from close range. Luckily for him, Wirtz doubled Germany’s lead just two minutes later, taking in Maximilian Mittelstädt’s pass perfectly before slotting home the goal that sealed a comfortable win.

As it happened!

Play video

0:31

Watch: More brilliant Bischof

Full-time: Germany 2-0 Serbia

Klopp has his first win as Germany head coach thanks to goals from Bischof and Wirtz. The game finishes 2-0, and it could have been more. Germany were dominant, and Serbia offered very little. Germany fans will be hoping this is the first win of many under Klopp.

Full-time

90'

Added time

Klopp now has just two minutes to wait before he can celebrate his first victory as Germany's coach.

90'

Blocked

Conté shoots from the edge of the box, but his effort is charged down by Gudelj.

88'

El Mala fires wide

The Cologne winger skips onto his right and fires a shot towards the near post that narrowly misses the target.

88'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Vitaly Janelt

(substitution out)

Aleksandar Pavlović

88'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Vasilije Kostov

(substitution out)

Nemanja Maksimović

87'

Off target

Mittelstädt tries his luck from range and misses the top corner by a decent margin.

85'

Conté tests Petrović again

Conté dips onto his left and shoots, but doesn't strike it cleanly and Petrović makes a relatively simple save.

Germany's 1000th player

Baur (right) has tonight become Germany's 1000th male international footballer.

81'

Thiaw denied

Treu whips in a dangerous cross from the left that Thiaw meets at the back post and once more Petrović reacts superbly to make another important stop. Wirtz then attempts to fire the ball back into the danger zone, but Serbia clear.

79'

Another yellow

Maksimović gets a yellow for a foul on Burkardt, as does Serbia's head coach Paunović for his protests.

79'

Yellow card

(yellow Card)

Nemanja Maksimović

78'

Kostić has a go

The ex-Frankfurt man tries his luck, but Urbig makes the stop.

77'

Triple change

Klopp opts for three changes with one of those being Baur, who comes on for his debut, making him Germany's 1000th player.

77'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Mika Baur

(substitution out)

Tom Bischof

77'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Jonathan Burkardt

(substitution out)

Nick Woltemade

77'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Bambasé Conté

(substitution out)

Derry Scherhant

73'

In the book

Gudelj pulls back El Mala and earns himself a booking.

73'

Yellow card

(yellow Card)

Nemanja Gudelj

73'

Dangerous

Samardžić does well to flick a pass through towards Cvetković, but he can't quite get his shot away.

68'

Offside

Serbia's S. Pavlović meets a free-kick at the back post and doesn't miss the target by much, but the flag is up against the AC Milan defender.

66'

Quadruple change

Serbia bring on four fresh faces in search of a way back into the match.

66'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Mihajlo Cvetković

(substitution out)

Stefan Džodić

66'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Saša Lukić

(substitution out)

Dušan Tadić

66'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Lazar Vujadin Samardžić

(substitution out)

Andrija Živković

66'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Strahinja Pavlović

(substitution out)

Strahinja Eraković

65'

Bischof has a go

The Bayern midfielder narrowly misses the target with a powerful drive from range.

64'

Wide

A ball is flicked onto the back post and Scherhant tries to flick it home, but he can't hit the target from a difficult angle.

63'

Scherhant hits the side netting again

The Freiburg man has been excellent tonight and once more he works shooting space, and once more his effort bounces off the side netting, but this time via a deflection.

Wirtz doubles Germany's lead

Mittelstädt has acres of space to get forward and finds Wirtz free in the box. He dodges the challenge of Babić beautifully before firing into the bottom corner. Lovely skill.

61'

Florian Wirtz

GOAL!

2:0

59'

Woltemade has to score

Germany almost have a second as Treu whips in the perfect cross for Woltemade at the back post, but he fires over the bar from a couple of yards out with the goal gaping.

58'

Side netting

Scherhant tries his luck from the edge of the box and strikes the side netting. Good effort.

57'

Close

El Mala skips inside on his right and looks to bend an effort into the far corner, but his shot deflects just wide.

56'

Loose

Urbig misplaces a pass, and Serbia look dangerous for a moment, but his teammates battle well to bail the Bayern keeper out of danger.

54'

Good football

Wirtz looks for Scherhant with a cross to the back post, but the Freiburg man can't meet the ball cleanly.

52'

Nearly

Bischof and Pavlović combine neatly on the edge of the Serbian penalty area, nearly leading to the latter having a chance, but Petrović comes out quickly to smother the danger.

50'

Cross gathered

Treu fires in a cross that Petrović gathers with ease.

46'

Back underway

The ball is moving once again in Munich as El Mala replaces Gnabry for the second half. The Cologne winger makes his Germany debut.

46'

Substitution

(substitution in)

Saïd El Mala

(substitution out)

Serge Gnabry

Kick-off!

Half-time: Germany 1-0 Serbia

Germany lead at the break and deservedly so. They have been in charge of this game from the off, and Bischof's finish after Wirtz's strike hit the post has alleviated any potential nervousness. Serbia, meanwhile, have only looked dangerous once, and it could have so easily led to them taking the lead as Kostić's cross narrowly avoided the stretching Nedeljković.

Half-time

45'

Added time

Just the one extra minute before the break.

43'

Bischof looking for his second

Full of confidence after his opener, Bischof unleashes a thunderbolt from range that Petrović has to parry away.

42'

Pavlović goes close

The Bayern man strikes a loose ball on the edge of the box, and his effort deflects just wide of the post.

Bischof fires Germany ahead

Wirtz does magnificently in the box to work himself some space and shoots for the far corner, only to see his effort bounce clear off the woodwork. Luckily for Germany, Bischof is there waiting, and he takes one touch before hammering the ball into the roof of the net.

39'

Tom Bischof

GOAL!

1:0

36'

Easy stop

Gnabry skips inside onto his left and shoots, but his effort is straight at Petrović once more.

35'

Wirtz denied

Gnabry's superb cross is met by Wirtz in the centre, but his header is well tipped away by Petrović.

32'

So close to the opener

Serbia almost spring a surprise on the break as Kostić bursts free down the left. He then looks for Nedeljković at the far post, but the delivery has just a tiny bit too much on it, and Germany survive.

30'

Massive chance

Germany combine neatly through the centre as Wirtz finds Woltemade in the box. He then pushes the ball into the path of Gnabry, who just has Petrović to beat. However, he can't catch his left-footed shot cleanly, and the Bournemouth goalkeeper is in the way to make the save. Thiaw then has a pop a few moments later that loops well over the bar.

28'

Great defending

Mittelstädt fires in a low cross that looks as if it is going to reach Woltemade in the centre, but Džodić slides across to intercept at the last second.

26'

Scherhant fires wide

The Freiburg winner dips inside and strikes for the far corner, not missing by too much.

24'

So close

Bischof finds space on the edge of the box and fires in an effort from range that clips the side netting on the way through. That one had Petrović stretching.

23'

A wall of blue

Germany have completely controlled the opening 23 minutes of this one, but they haven't had a lot of chances. They aren't finding it easy to break down Serbia's low block.

18'

Gnabry narowly misses the target

Bischof has a go that misses by a decent margin before Wirtz spots the run of Gnabry and feeds him through on the right. He strikes for the far corner, but he doesn't quite get the angle right, and his shot rolls wide.

16'

Half chances

Bischof flicks the ball into the path of Woltemade in the box. He tries to shoot on the spin, but his shot is deflected wide. From the resulting corner, there's a bit of a scramble before the ball drops for Anton on the volley. His effort on his weaker left isn't a clean one, though, and the ball loops well wide.

Germany captain

It's a big night for Gnabry as he captains his nation in the absence of Kimmich.

11'

Woltemade heads wide

Scherhant does well again to get a cross into the box and Woltemade is there again, but he can only head wide of the mark whilst under pressure.

No way through

Woltemade is found in the box and tries to bundle his way towards goal, but he can't find his way through.

Inches wide

A Scherhant cross to the back post is nodded back to the edge of the box by Treu and Pavlović runs onto it and strikes a powerful shot towards goal that flies just wide of the post.

Mittelstädt shoots wide

The Stuttgart defender mops up a Serbian clearance on the edge of the box and tries his luck, but the shot bobbles wide.

Good idea

Gnabry almost finds Wirtz in the box with a neat pass between the lines, but the ball has just a little too much on it and it rolls through for Petrović to collect.

We're underway

The ball is moving in Munich.

Kick-off!

Players on the pitch

The national anthems are playing as we rapidly approach kick-off.

We should see goals

Germany have not been involved in a 0-0 game in the Nations League since their first match in the competition back in 2018 when they drew with France. Since then, their games in the competition have seen an average of 3.41 goals per game

Further debuts from the bench?

Atubolu, Dahmen, Jeltsch, Janelt, Baur and El Mala (pictured) could all make their debut tonight should they be called upon.

Germany team news

Klopp's second Germany squad of the international break naturally means a host of changes, as all 11 players are new from the side that lost to Greece last time out. Of those starters, both Jonas Urbig (pictured) and Derry Scherhant are set to make their debuts.

Serbia team news

Both sides make a whole host of changes ahead of tonight's meeting, with Serbia making seven swaps from the side that lost 2-1 to the Netherlands last time out. Djordje Petrović, Strahinja Eraković, Filip Kostić, Stefan Džodić, Nemanja Maksimović, Luka Jović and Dušan Tadić are the fresh faces for tonight. That also means that Kosta Nedeljković (pictured, right) of Rangers starts and could be facing his ex-club teammate David Raum (left).

Starting line-up: Germany

Formation:4-3-3

Jonas Urbig

Maximilian Mittelstädt

Malick Thiaw

Waldemar Anton

Philipp Treu

Florian Wirtz

Aleksandar Pavlović

Tom Bischof

Serge Gnabry

Nick Woltemade

Derry Scherhant

Germany subs

Atubolu, Dahmen, Baku, Jeltsch, Raum, Baur, Conté, El Mala, Engelhardt, Janelt, Karl, Burkardt

Starting line-up: Serbia

Formation:4-4-2

Djordje Petrović

Srđan Babić

[This original photo is no longer available from the source.]

Nemanja Gudelj

Strahinja Erakovic

[This original photo is no longer available from the source.]

Kosta Nedeljkovic

Filip Kostić

Stefan Džodić

Nemanja Maksimović

Andrija Živković

Luka Jović

[This original photo is no longer available from the source.]

Dušan Tadić

Serbia subs

Milinković-Savić, Stanković, Mimović, Pavlović, Simić, Terzić, Kostov, Lukić, Samardžić, Stanković, Cvetković, Joveljić

Fresh faces

With Kai Havertz, Marc-André ter Stegen, Jonathan Tah and Joshua Kimmich having all left the camp after the first two games, none of the players that faced Serbia in 2019 will feature today for Germany.

Jürgen Klopp on why Kimmich's absence is necessary

"We wanted to make this change, and I also want to see these guys when the established players aren't there. I have to see that. Injuries can happen in the future, other things can happen."

Play video

0:22

The Germany team head to Munich!

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2:14

Klopp speaks out on racism

Jürgen Klopp was quick to dismiss the racism directed toward some of the Germany players after their 1-0 loss to Greece.

Your Germany XI to face Serbia

Your votes are in! These are the XI Bundesliga App users would like to see Jürgen Klopp select tonight. Note: Nico Schlotterbeck received enough votes to make the team but was removed from the result after withdrawing from the squad due to injury.

Keidel sitting out

One of the debutants in the squad will have to wait a little longer for a chance of a maiden cap. Elversberg's Felix Keidel was not named in the 23-man squad for the match.

Play video

0:49

Watch: Urbig on his playing style

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0:20

Watch: Urbig looking forward to Germany debut

Play video

0:41

Watch: Klopp on Schlotterbeck's injury

Urbig on the battle to be Germany's No.1

“This whole number-one issue isn’t something I concern myself with. My focus is on reaching my limit every day and pushing it further. We’ll see how everything else develops over time. I’ve been shown a lot of faith in Munich, and I’ve been given the trust to make my debut tomorrow.”

CONFIRMED: Urbig to start

The Bayern Munich custodian will begin in goal for Germany at the Allianz Arena, thereby making his senior international debut. “It’s very special," he said at Germany's press conference. "It’s a moment you work towards your whole life. I’m delighted that I’ll get the chance to walk out at my home stadium tomorrow. I’ll do everything I can to help us get our first win as a team under Jürgen Klopp.”

Klopp on facing Serbia

“What makes Serbia particularly difficult to play against is their experience. They also have some excellent footballers. They’re very streetwise, and we have to be prepared for that. They have a special mentality. A team that sits deep is a major challenge for any side, whatever stage of development they’re at.”

Klopp on who will captain Germany

As regular skipper Joshua Kimmich has now departed camp, having been part of the first block of players, Germany will need a new captain to lead the team against Serbia. “The team will be led out tomorrow by the player with the most international caps," said Klopp at his pre-match press conference. "There’s absolutely no reason to think about Jo Kimmich. Jo isn’t here, so the player with the most appearances will do it.” He refused to reveal who it would be, however.

Play video

0:27

Watch: Germany train before Serbia match

Schlotterbeck out of squad

Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck was ruled out of Germany's squad on the eve of the match after sustaining an ankle ligament injury in training. He will also miss the match against Greece on Sunday.

Play video

2:46

Watch: The best of Jonas Urbig

Big things are expected of the goalkeeper who swapped Cologne for Bayern Munich in January 2025.

Klopp and Urbig to face the cameras

Germany coach Jürgen Klopp and goalkeeper Jonas Urbig are to speak to the media at the latter's home ground in Munich at 6pm CEST on Wednesday in a pre-match press conference.

Fine tuning on Wednesday

Germany completed their final training session on Wednesday morning at the Home Ground complex in Herzogenaurach before taking a bus to Munich ahead of Thursday evening's clash at the Allianz Arena.

Wearing white on the night

Germany are to wear their white adidas home kit against Serbia - potentially for the final time before Nike become their outfitters in January.

All change (almost)

It's now over to 'squad 2' to get Germany their first win under Klopp. Six players have remained from the first squad to now take on Serbia and Greece. The full 25-man squad is: Noah Atubolu, Finn Dahmen, Jonas Urbig; Waldemar Anton, Ridle Baku, Finn Jeltsch, Maximilian Mittelstädt, David Raum, Nico Schlotterbeck, Malick Thiaw, Philipp Treu; Mika Baur, Tom Bischof, Bambasé Conté, Said El Mala, Yannik Engelhardt, Serge Gnabry, Vitaly Janelt, Lennart Karl, Felix Keidel, Aleksander Pavlović, Derry Scherhant, Florian Wirtz (pictured); Jonathan Burkardt, Nick Woltemade.

Captain Kimmich gives his view on Greece loss

“It definitely wasn’t a good performance. It’s obviously unfortunate to lose this way. We had difficulties breaking their deep block. With a bit of luck, we could’ve scored a goal, but on the whole our play was too static. We lacked ideas up front.”

Klopp reacts to Greece defeat

"We shouldn't lose a game like this. We didn't play as physically as we actually had to. We're a new group coming together. You need patterns of play and training to play through such a defensive opponent. It's not a nice lesson but one that will help us going forward."

Current Group A2 table

1. Greece (6 points), 2. Netherlands (4), 3. Germany (1), 4. Serbia (0). The top two from each group in League A progress to the quarter-finals. The bottom two sides face the threat of relegation to League B or a play-off to stay up at this level.

Serbia bringing up the rear

The Eagles are bottom of Group A2 after back-to-back 2-1 home defeats against Greece and then the Netherlands.

Klopp still looking for first win

Jürgen Klopp was denied victory on his Germany debut as a late Netherlands goal limited Germany to a 1-1 draw last week. A Dimitrios Kourbelis strike then stole all three points for Greece in Augsburg on Sunday, leaving Germany on only one point in Group A2.

Special night for Pavlović

The fixture list could hardly have been kinder to Bayern's Aleks Pavlović. Not only does the Munich native get to play on his home ground for Germany, but it will come against the nation he could've chosen to represent through his Serbian father. Serbia had tried to call up Pavlović in March 2024 before committing to Germany ahead of Euro 2024. "I have two hearts in my chest. My mother is German and my father Serbian," he said at the time.

Ex-Bundesliga stars

There are a couple of ex-Bundesliga talents in Serbia's squad, and both played for Eintracht Frankfurt amongst other clubs. Those players are Luka Jović and Filip Kostić, both of whom had standout spells in the Bundesliga. Kostić spent eight years in Germany's top flight and represented VfB Stuttgart and Hamburg as well as Frankfurt.

Previous meeting

The last time these two nations met was in 2019, when they played out a 1-1 draw in Wolfsburg. Serbia took a 1-0 lead on the night before Leon Goretzka equalised midway through the second half. The last time Germany and Serbia faced each other competitively was at the 2010 World Cup, when Serbia came away surprise 1-0 winners in the group phase.

Head-to-head

Germany and Serbia have faced each other a total of 29 times, including the results of West Germany and Yugoslavia. Of those 29 games, Germany have won 16, drawn five and lost eight. Germany have also outscored their opponents by 50 goals to 34.

Welcome!

Follow all of the build-up and live action as Germany host Serbia at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Thursday 1 October (kick-off: 8.45pm CEST), as they continue their 2026/27 UEFA Nations League campaign.

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